Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1885-1890, 1887-03-26
THE SUN RIVER CANAL.
What This Great irrigation Enterprise
Has Done and What is Proposed to
AeconpIiahe the Present
Summer


The Sun River Canal Co, was organized
three years ago at Helena. The capital
stock is 100000: the officers Of the com-
pany are the same now as three years ago,
and consist of: A. n. Hotter. president;
Ii. NJ. Parchen, treasurer; Henry Klein,
secretary; j. D. Mcintyre, chief engineer.
Board OF directors: S. T. Hauser, A. NJ.
Hotter, Henry Klein, J. D. Mcintyre, Nick
Kessler. During the past year this COM
pany have constructed about tWentysix
miles Of canal, one mile of fume and two
thousand feet of pipe two feet in diameter.
This line Of canal diverges from the Teton
river near Choteau and runs in an easterly
direction across the Teton basin directly
toward Great Falls, and discharges itself
into the head Of Muddy creek: from this
point the natural channel will be used
down to Sun river Ieavings. q ditch will
Leavings down to Great Falls, and we are
assured by the company's chief engineer
that this work will be commenced within
a few days and pushed to its completion
as fast as men and money can do it. The
completion of this extension will bring
under irrigation the present season all the
and Great Falls. We are further informed
that the company propose to rent water to
land owners or to those who may take up
land under this line at very low figures.
This company have also commenced an
immense canal from Sun river to irrigate
the high prairie lands between Sun river
Missouri and Teton rivers, as far north as
2S-Mile Springs. Several miles of this
canal is already completed, and work is to
be resumed at once. The system of canals
thus inaugurated, when completed, will
cover an area Of one million acres of fine
agricultural land, all of which is tributary
to Great Falls. These high prairie benches
are we'll known to be the best wheat pro-
dueing lands III the northwest, and at no
distant day the great water power Of the
Missouri at this place will be used extern
sively to manufacture -four.
The company have also commenced
work upon the Big lake on the Benton
road. This immense body of water which
is at the present time six miles long and
four miles wide, is to be tapped by a cut
enc and and tunnel onefourth mile in
length. The water will be distributed
over the lands lying to the west of Great
Falls. The lake will be fed by bitches
from Muddy creek. The region Of coun-
try drained by this lake is estimated at
over three hundred square miles, and the
natural supply from this source alone will
irrigate over fifty thousand acres Of land.
The importance of this irrigation enter
prise to Great Falls is APPARENT to all: the
wisdom and foresight of this company in
these operations is alsoapparent It is a
we'll known fact that within a radius of
fifty miles of Great Falls there is more
&c cd agricultural land than in all the rest
81 Montana besides. and it needs no pro-
.phetic eye to see that q great common
wealth will soon find homes upon these
lands, and nothing will DO more to hasten
these settlements than the extension of
this system Of irrigating canals